The final list will be published on August 31, as mandated by the Supreme Court. The meeting was attended by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Home Secretary, Chief Secretary of Assam and several other senior officers.

“It was decided that in order to facilitate those excluded from NRC, adequate arrangements will be made by state government to provide full opportunity to appeal against their non-inclusion. Every individual whose name does not figure in final NRC, can represent his/her case in front of Foreigner Tribunals (FT),” read a statement issued by the Home Ministry.

On July 23, a bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman had passed the order to extend the deadline of publication of the NRC final list from July 31 to August 31 after a plea was filed by the Centre and Assam government for an extension of the deadline.

Chief Minister Sonowal had earlier expressed that his government was committed to protecting all its genuine citizens and hoped that the publication will be conducted peacefully.

“As everybody knows the publication of NRC will be carried out on August 31 based on the order by the Supreme Court. Everything had remained peaceful when the first draft of the NRC came out. The people put forth their demands then too, this time also things will happen peacefully with the support of the people,” he had said.

In August last year, the final draft of the NRC had excluded over 40 lakh people. The state NRC coordinator’s office has received 36.2 lakh applications for inclusion of names, and another 2 lakh applications seeking exclusion of names.